M7U4-Project

mation do you think the reading passage will give us? ? the causes of traffic accidents and how to be safe on the road

Read the article carefully and find answers to first four questions in Part B.1 What are some of the causes of traffic accidents involving vehicles? 2 How do accidents involving bicycles happen? 3 If you are cycling at night, what should you always do? 4 What should all pedestrians do?

Answers 1 Traffic accidents involving vehicles are mainly caused by drivers who make incorrect actions, such as not paying attention while driving, being impatient in a traffic jam, speaking in a mobile phone while driving, drinking alcohol, speeding and so on.

2 Accidents involving bicycles are usually caused because cyclists are not paying attention to the cars around them, or carrying a passenger. Sometimes accidents occur with bicycles when the brakes on their bicycles do not work properly or their bicycles do not use lights at night.

3 There should be a light on the bicycle.

4 Pedestrians should always cross roads on a crossing. While crossing, they should look both ways and listen for cars.

Let’s check your understanding of the reading passage by more questions. ? 1 What is the purpose of the notice? A The notice is aimed at increasing people’s awareness of the traffic problem. B To tell drivers how to

? 2 What is the most common cause of accidents? ? Drivers’ not paying attention. ? 3 Why is it dangerous for drivers to speak on mobile phones? ? Because speaking on the phone requires concentration and takes a driver’s attention from the road.

4 Can cyclists ride on the pavement? Why (not)? ? No, they can’t. Because riding on the pavement can be dangerous to pedestrians. They should walk next to their bicycles.●

? 5 What can we do to prevent accidents? ? Pedestrians, cyclists and drivers should all obey traffic lights and make sure that we avoid accidents by paying attention to road safety.

? Part B ? Work in groups of four or six to discuss the questions 5-8 in Part B. Write down your answers. Then one student from each group presents your answer to the class. Other groups can give your comments.

Exercises in class

Complete the sentences with proper words or phrases from the article on pages 62-63 of your book. Change the form where necessary.

1 There were 39, 000 new cases last year increase - an ____________ of 7 per cent. 2 He is still standing under the tree, not ____________ the danger. aware of 3 My father was ____________ for fined dangerous driving yesterday. dismissed 4 He has been ____________ from his job for dishonesty.

irresponsible 5 It would be______________ to ignore these warnings. 6 Leaving your house unlocked is an open ____________ to burglars. invitation 7 The western part of China is in great ____________ of teachers. need 8 Whenever you come into his room, it is orderly always ____________.

9 I found it hard to follow what the teacher was saying, and eventually I lost concentration ____________. extreme 10 In _________ cases, the disease can lead to blindness.

? 1. The number of road accidents and the deaths arising from those accidents has increased greatly over the past year. (P62) ? arise ? v. [I] (arose, arisen) to happen: Should the opportunity arise, I'd love to go to China. Could you work on Saturday, should the need arise (= if it were to be necessary)? Are there any matters arising from (=

2. This notice is aimed at increasing people’s awareness of the problem because it has become quite extreme. (P62)? aim at sth. to plan, hope / intend to achieve sth.: The talks are aiming at a compromise. [+ doing ] The government's campaign is aimed at influencing public opinion.

? aware adj.knowing that sth. exists, or having knowledge or experience of a particular thing: [+ that] I wasn't even aware that he was ill. She was well (= very) aware that he was married . Were you aware of the risks at the time? I suddenly became aware of (= started to notice) him looking at me. "Has Claude paid the phone bill?" "Not as far as I'm aware." (= I don't think so)

? awarenessn. [U] Public awareness of the problem will make politicians take it seriously. Environmental awareness has increased dramatically over the past decade.

3. We must all be aware of the potential causes of traffic accidents and act to prevent them. (P 62)? potential adj. possible when the necessary conditions exist: 1) A number of potential buyers have expressed interest in the company. 2) Many potential customers are waiting for a fall in prices before buying. 3) The accident is a grim reminder of the potential dangers involved in North Sea oil production

4. Many drivers are aggressive and push into other lanes of traffic or overtake other cars. (P62)? aggressive adj. 1) behaving in an angry and violent way towards another person: Men tend to be more aggressive than women. If I criticize him, he gets aggressive and starts shouting. 2) determined to win or succeed and using forceful action to achieve victory or success: an aggressive election campaign aggressive marketing tactics

? overtake v. (overtook, overtaken)1) Vt. to go beyond sth. by being a greater amount or degree: Our US sales have now overtaken our sales in Europe. We'd planned to hold a meeting tomorrow, but events have overtaken us (= things have changed). 2) vt./vi. to come from behind another vehicle or a person and move in front of it: Always check your rear view mirror before you overtake (another car).

? fine n.c. an amount of money that has to be paid as a punishment for not obeying a rule or law: The maximum penalty for the offence is a $1000 fine. If found guilty, he faces six months in jail and a heavy (= severe) fine. vt. Drivers who exceed the speed limit can expect to be fined heavily. [+ two objects] They fined him $100 for using threatening behavior.

5. Recently the number of people fined for speaking on their mobile phones while driving has increased by 30 percent. (P62)

6. If you drive after you have consumedalcoholic drinks, you are violating the law and risking your own life as well as the lives of others. (P62)? consume vt. 1) to use fuel, energy or time, especially in large amounts: Our high living standards cause our present population to consume 25 percent of the world's oil. 2) FORMAL to eat or drink, especially a lot of sth.: He consumes vast quantities of chips with every meal. ? violate vt. to break or act against sth., especially a law, agreement, principle or sth. that should be treated with respect: They were charged with violating federal law.

risk? vt.1) to do sth. although there is a chance of a bad result: ---"It's dangerous to cross here." ---"I'll just have to risk it." [+ doing] He risked losing his house when his company went bankrupt. 2) If you risk sth. important, you cause it to be in a dangerous situation where you might lose it: He risked life and limb to get the cat down from the tree. She was prepared to risk everything on a last throw of the dice.